Falling
by DreamChild
Summary: Follows after "Sacrifice": Love's a question Rogue wants nothing more to do than to forget. But is it as easy as that? What happens when a growing relationship starts to build between her and one of the BoM members? *C11 up!*
1. Conversation & Thoughts

Author's notes:

Ta-da! The continuation of Torn Pages begins ^^ Beforehand I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed "Sacrifice" – it's an encouragement to keep me writing, Thanks!

This is what follows after "Sacrifice". Rogue comes to a decision that she won't ever love, but is it as easy as that?  

Torn Pages Part 2:"Falling"

Chapter 1: Conversation and Thoughts

***

_"Are you happy?"_

_"Of course…"_

***

"Man, I can't believe we teamed up with the X geeks again!"

Lance was referring to the recent battle where the Brotherhood and the X Men had worked together once more to defeat their mutual enemies.

If it hadn't been for that fact, the Brotherhood wouldn't have even bothered.

But as it was they decided to agree on the temporary truce.

Now it was over, things were pretty much the same way between them as it had been before.

Todd looked up at Lance, his slimy tongue hanging out as he was in the middle of his favorite pastime – catching flies,

"I thought you liked teaming up with them, especially since you and Kitty were side by side throughout the whole battle, yo?"

Lance frowned at the mention of that, and Pietro's snickering.

"Yeah, Lance. It seems you enjoyed the whole bonding pretty much."

Lance shot him a look,

"I didn't see you complain either…or was it because you were preoccupied with something, or should I say _someone_ at that moment?"

Pietro opened his mouth to retort something back, when Todd pointed out the obvious,

"Yeah, weren't you and Rogue, like, teammates during the fight, yo?"    

Pietro glared defensively at them.

"It's not like I had a choice!"

Lance and Todd exchanged looks

" Right." Lance said.

"Well, at least I don't have anything mushy going on with her, not that I would say the same for someone…" Pietro taunted, merely pointing a finger at Lance.

Lance raised his hands in mock surrender, 

"Hey, cut me some slack, will ya? Besides…I'd watch it if I were you."

Pietro folded his arms,

"Yeah, what's that suppose to mean?"

Lance shrugged as he walked up the stairs to his room,

"Let's just say you're walking on dangerous ground…getting too close to her…"

Pietro laughed,

"Like I'd ever turn into a wimp like you!"

"Whatever…"

***

"Hey, we make a pretty good team, don't we?" 

_Pietro grinned, a twinkle in his devious eyes._

_Rogue gave a slight nod,_

_"Yeah well don't get too comfy – this is more like a one time thing."_

_Pietro laughed,_

_"Yeah, right."_

Rogue lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Somehow she couldn't sleep.

She kept thinking to the moment of the temporary truce, hard to believe as it was…

Still, she admitted, it was sort of fun while it lasted… 

She gazed across the room where Kitty was fast asleep, breathing softly as she slumbered.

Rogue smiled.

_She probably enjoyed it more than anyone._

_She and Lance…_

Then she sighed, remembering again the promise she had made a few weeks ago.

That I'd never have those feelings about anyone else ever again… 

She'd vowed that right after Scott's recovery and the mending relationship between her and Jean.

Placing a hand on her temple, she convinced herself once more,

This is the right thing… For everyone's sake… 

_And mine…_

She shook her head slightly as she gave a sad smile,

Besides, who'd ever be able to love me in that kind of way? 

***

I can't believe this… All these seats and I had to pick the one right behind these two hyper perky chatterboxes! 

Rogue sighed like for the third time that period.

Seated behind two pretty looking girls who obviously were fashion freaks and on the _in _crowd was rather trying as she had to go through to a whole hour of listening to their _not of interest _conversation going on since the very beginning.

She wished she could tune them out somehow but they never seemed to be out of source for what to talk next, ranging from the latest outfit to the latest gossip.

Now it was on the topic of the most popular boys in school.

"Like, what about that guy with the cool looking glasses all the time?"

"You mean Scott Summers?"

"Yeah! He is like totally hot!"

"Well, he's already got a girlfriend …"  

"Jean Grey, right? How I envy her…"

"Yeah, if he were my boyfriend…"

Rogue rolled her eyes.

Yeah, if he were your boyfriend I'd feel sorry for him… 

"Maximoff! You're late!"

Rogue looked to the front where the teacher was frowning at the student who had just walked in.

Pietro shrugged,

"I was called in to the principle's office."

"Never mind…just take your seat."

Pietro made a face as he walked over to an empty seat not noticing that Rogue had her gaze on him.

"That's the one I was telling you about…" the blond gushed to her friend.

Here we go again… 

"You're so right! He is cool, not to mention handsome with that bad boy attitude of his…"

"The best thing is he's hasn't been hooked yet! The girls will be so jealous if I got him first…"

Rogue couldn't help laughing at this.

She must have laughed loud enough for them to hear because they had stopped their conversation and were glaring at her.

"Like, what may I ask, amuses you?" the blond girl demanded.

Regaining her composure, Rogue shrugged,

"Nothing…it's just that the whole thing sounds silly to me."

Both girls gapped at her with wide-open mouths as if she were an alien or something.

"Well, you should know, especially since I don't see you hanging around with any of the guys let alone have a boyfriend," the girl retorted pointedly with a snicker from her friend.

Rogue gave a dull yawn,

"They don't interest me."

The girl rolled her eyes,

"Yeah, right. It's just that you can't find anyone to pay attention to you that you can't stand other people having the same attention you want. If you ask me, you're envious about not being popular enough."

The bell rang.

Rogue stood up, and tossing her hair over her shoulder, she said coolly,

"I couldn't care less if I were popular or not. Truth is if I had to be popular and mindless put you and you together – I'd rather not."

She gave a triumph smile as she left them dumb struck.

***

"Hey, Goth girl…"

Rogue rolled her eyes as she slammed her locker shut, ignoring the person next to her.

"So what did I miss?" he asked referring to their last class.

Rogue stared at him. "Not much I guess, but like you'd bother about that."

Pietro merely grinned, and faking a yawn he gave a shrug,

"Yup. That class was dullsville!"

Rogue couldn't help but agree with him on that. 

"Well I'd suppose the only thing that would get your interest is that if you were the main topic of a conversation."

Pietro raised an eyebrow, curiosity twinkling in his eyes.

"What? I missed _that _?! _Who_ talked about me? _What_ about?"

Rogue sighed. _Leave it to me to boost his ego…_

"Just some girls…having a crush on you or something like that…"

"Naturally. Not like I could blame them, what with my handsome looks and charming personality…" Pietro said proudly, running his fingers through his hair as he did.

Again, Rogue rolled her eyes. "Aren't you the modest type." 

Pietro smiled deviously as he suddenly leaned closer to her, meeting her eyes with his.

"Hey, I can't help it if I'm what girls find attractive…"

Trying to look away, Rogue retorted,

"Some girls, maybe."

Pietro laughed,

"What? Not you?"

"Dream on." 

Chuckling, Pietro whispered in her ear,

"_You look prettier when you're mad._" 

Before Rogue could do anything, he was off like the speed demon he was.

Jerk… 

***

That was it… 

"WHAT???" Pietro finally cried out when he noticed that they had been staring at him as if he were some science experiment for the last half hour.

"Nothin'..." Lance said innocently. 

"Yeah, nuttin, yo…" came Todd.

"Nope…" mumbled Fred through his snack.

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Cut it with the act already! You guys have been acting pretty weird ever since we came back from school."

Lance shrugged. 

"Not as weird as you."

"What?"

They laughed.

"Haven't you noticed that dreamy look and stupid grin you've been wearing throughout the afternoon?"  Lance told him.

"What?!"

"He said – " Todd began.

"I _heard_ what he said!! What I meant was that I did not look like that!!" yelled Pietro.

"Did so," pointed out Fred.

"Did not!"

Lance sighed,

"Stop acting like a bunch of kids, you two! The main point is _why _you had that stupid look on your face in the first place."

Pietro glared at him, and was going to start another 'did not - did so', but thought better. Just as he was about to reply however, Todd cut in with,

"Does it have to do with da Rogue, yo?"

They were doing it again. Staring at him in a way that made him want to freak out as they waited for his answer. 

"No, it's nothing to do with _da _Rogue, ok? Now lay off my case."

"Speaking about Rogue, have you noticed how she's been acting lately?" asked Lance.

"She's always been the way she is. What's so strange about that, yo?" laughed Todd.

Lance frowned.

"Kitty tells me she's been kinda down lately – sort of, not her usual self."

"Kitty, told you?" 

The others burst out laughing while Lance tried furiously not to blush and pound them at the same time.

Seeing a chance to break away from the earlier conversation, Pietro headed for the door and called out, just before disappearing, 

"I'm gonna take a walk. Don't wait up for me!"   

"A walk?" Fred echoed.

"More like, a race around town," murmured Lance as he took a sip from his coffee.

***

Everything around him seemed so slow.

Even time seemed to be oblivious of him.

Of course, time had no meaning to Pietro.

Frowning, he lowered his pace so he could level with his thoughts.

It had only been a few minutes and since he hadn't really thought of directions, he found himself at a clearing where there was a path leading uphill. The place was silent except for the rustling of leaves as the winds passed through. 

Pietro was wondering about what Lance had said. Rogue didn't really act like herself these days. Not that it was his business, only out of curiosity. And about that look he had had on his face?

Sheesh, what was that all about… 

A sudden thought came to him.

I'm not becoming attached to her, am I? Whoa! What kind of thought is that?   Of course I'm not! Why would I want to turn into a pansy like Lance?! 

Laughing at his own foolishness he suddenly stopped as he noticed someone uphill.

Rogue? 

***

Continued… 

(So what did you think? *laughs* ok, so it is a Rietro fic (I couldn't help it – I like the pairing!)  ^^ Anyway, this chapter is kinda long, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same ^_^)

  
  
 

  

   


	2. Avoiding you

Torn Pages Part 2: Falling

Chapter 2: Avoiding you

_I took this path and you took the other,_

_Separated into different ways both me and you_

_But further down the road_

_Intervened fate, and fate,_

_Fate brought us back together… _

***

'_Come with me, and be set free…'_

Without hesitation, the princess took his hand and together they both escaped into the darkness…

For a moment Rogue stared at the picture in the book she was reading. It was a picture of a dark knight who had his hand extended to a beautiful young girl, beckoning her to come with him. The scene was both mysterious and dark, portraying the romance of the two characters – the dark knight and his beloved princess. 

Rogue sighed to herself as she put the book down. _I'm supposed to be forgetting about love…not reading about it!  _

She shook her head. The plot of the story was really exciting and mysterious but she wouldn't have wanted to read it in the first place had it not been for the fact that it was one of the school assignments that needed to be completed. Staring into the distance, Rogue decided to finish the book later and head back to the institute before she worried the others. Just as she was about to get up, a sudden breeze circled around her. A rather familiar breeze…

Next thing she knew, Pietro stood in front of her, looking down at her with those same devious deep blue eyes and childish boyish grin.

"Hey, there…" 

"Hey yourself," muttered Rogue as she stood up, carrying her books in her arms as she proceeded to leave.

_Why is he constantly running into me? _She thought with a bit of annoyance.

Pietro stopped her as he suddenly reappeared before her again, as swiftly and as lightly as the passing wind.

"Oh, come on. What's the rush?" he asked, enjoying the scowl that appeared on her beautiful young face.

Placing a hand on her hip she told him, "Look, why don't you just go bother someone else?"

" 'Cause it's much fun to bother you," he said simply.

She couldn't believe how irritating he was being. She wondered how he could be just as stubborn and annoying as his looks.

Sighing she walked past him, mumbling,

"I gotta go…"

"You know…not that it's my business or anything, but… you've been quiet lately…"

Rogue stopped in her tracks. Startled at the statement. For a moment she just froze there. Then, slowly she turned back to face him, a slight smile on her lips.

"I've never been quite the talkative type either, now have I?"

Pietro felt his face flush as she gazed up at him with those cold green eyes of hers. Aware that she was waiting an answer from him, he hurriedly regained his composure, replying as he thought the words over,

"I meant, you've been unusually quiet than before…um, even for yourself…"

Somehow, that just didn't come out right…

Rogue laughed. 

"I suppose there's not much to say these days..." she said softly, her gaze towards the ground as she pushed a strand of hair away from her face.

Frowning, Pietro noticed something in her eyes. A sort of feeling…depressed and alone…

_What's gotten into her? _He wondered.

He'd never known her well enough before, perhaps because he had never bothered to do so, but he knew her well enough to tell that this wasn't the Rogue's normal behavior.  

Before he could stop himself he asked her, "Is something wrong?"

She looked up at him, surprised. _Why is he being so concern?_

Wishing he could kick himself for showing such emotion, he was about to come up with something to cover it up but then Rogue spoke up,

"No, nothing's the matter. I…I really have to get going." 

With that she was moving on down hill and Pietro didn't try to stop her as he just stood there, gazing after her.

***

Breathing steadily, Rogue had her back against the door, the books she carried still in her arms. 

She was back at the institute, having rushed all the way here. Her eyes were closed as she tried to reassemble the thoughts in her head. Her heart was beating at a strangely fast pace, a sure sign that she wasn't feeling herself. 

_Why had he been asking her those questions? Had he really been concern? Did she want him to be concern? Why did it even matter to her? Or even him? And why was she thinking all of this? _

Taking in a deep breath, she calmed herself down. She was probably making a fuss about nothing. Perhaps it was just a side effect of seeing him around so much. Him and his strange behavior nowadays. 

Playing around with a strand of one of her white locks she murmured,

"Perhaps it's just best to stay away from him…"

***

Pietro was up in his room, merely staring up at the ceiling with his hands folded behind his head. He wasn't feeling his usual upbeat self, more like weary, down and in thought.

_What's up with you, Speedy? What's troubling the waters of your mind?_

He sighed. If Lance and the others caught him in this mood he was a goner! They'd start asking questions he knew he couldn't answer and would rather die if he did, which was why he had disappeared into his room the moment he had got home. His room – probably the only privacy he had in the whole house. The others had wondered where he'd been and it was dinnertime when he came back. Seeing that Pietro hadn't raided out the food stock as he usually did, Fred had mumbled joyously about there being more food for him much to the horror of the rest.    

To Pietro, however, food wasn't the issue on his mind; what bothered him most was the fact that there actually _was_ something bothering him. Him; the one who seldom worried about almost anything at all! Suddenly a clouded image appeared at the back of his mind; an image that slowly came into focus. Those cold emerald eyes that gazed up at him so deep and penetrating – reflecting with the longing and sorrow, and yet burning with determination and a will that could not be tamed. Rogue…

_That's it! I've completely lost it! Yeah, it was fun irritating her and all, but now…_

Slapping his head he scolded himself,

_She's on the enemy list for crying out loud! One of the X geeks! Man, I'm gonna end up as soft as a pancake…_

Frustrated he wished he could handle that part of him that seemed at times beyond his control as easily as he could handle his speed, that part of him that was and had always remained no matter how he tried to push them away – his feelings.

Get a grip on yourself, man! It's probably 'cause you've been hanging way too much around her…

_So the only solution to this is to stay clear away from her…Which is what I'll do first thing tomorrow morning._

Feeling satisfied he decided to head downstairs and check out if Fred had left anything to eat.

***

"…And I was like, yeah, but isn't that way too much? And she said…"

Rogue smiled as she nodded to her friend's lively conversation as they started down the school halls. Suddenly Kitty stopped and with eyes wide, she gasped,

"Ohmigosh! Lance is there!"

Following her friend's gaze Rogue saw Lance standing by the lockers, talking with Pietro.

"Rogue! Like what should I do? Should I stop and say hi to him or just pretend I didn't see him? This is so like –"

"Um, I kinda forgot something back there. Why don't you just go ahead without me?"

"What!? But Rogue…"

Before she could finish her sentence, the girl was already off.

"Um, I should probably go now…"

Lance stared at him.

"What!? But you just got here…"

His voice trailed off as he was left staring at the spot Pietro had just stood.

Fine! At least I get to talk to Kitty without being made fun of! 

"That was like so weird…"

Lance gulped us Kitty came up beside him, looking pretty and as Kitty as usual. Aware that she was looking up at him expecting a reply, he asked,

"What?"

Kitty sighed.

"Rouge, she just took off…"

Lance frowned.

"Weird. Pietro did the same thing too."

Kitty raised an eyebrow. "Pietro?"

Lance shrugged. "It's probably nothing…Anyway, care to let me walk you to class?"

***

So far, Rogue had managed to avoid bumping into Pietro throughout the whole week, and today was the last day of school before the weekend. 

Relieved, she was looking forward to a day of relaxation. _Now all I have to get through is this one final class for the afternoon._

This particular class was one of the classes that she had with Pietro. Luckily that didn't seem such a big problem, as they would be separated by rows of other seats as she took a seat as far away from him as possible. 

Pietro tensed up when he saw Rogue walk into class but relaxed when she sat a complete distance away from him. Yup, he'd been able to avoid her throughout the week and already he was beginning to feel much more like himself again. But he wondered for how long he could keep on doing this. He knew he couldn't go on doing this forever – even Lance and the others were beginning to wonder about his strange behavior. _Probably just as long until I can be sure that this feeling is completely gone…_

***

"WHAT!?"

Rogue glanced over her shoulder to see that Pietro too had stood up and echoed the words in disbelief just as she had at the exact moment.

Frowning with disapproval, the teacher glanced at them through his thick glasses and asked,

"Yes, do you two have a problem?"

Of course there was a problem! How could he, out of all these students had to assign _them_ in particular as partners for their class project?? But before either could answer, the teacher merely waved a hand at them, gesturing for them to seat down as he told them,

"If there is, then please wait till after class to speak about it."

With that he continued with the lesson much to the frustration of the two teenagers.

***

Rogue gave a long deep sigh as she leaned heavily against the lockers. _This has to be a total nightmare!_

Class had finished a few minutes ago and both Rogue and Pietro had tried to change the teacher's mind to reconsider the pairing. But the teacher, with his narrowed eyes and stern gaze told them he didn't see a problem with that and that there was no really good reason for them not to work on the assignment together. Of course, Rogue admitted, she wasn't going to tell that what she really wanted was to completely avoid Pietro, not with him standing there and all. Besides, he too gave in when the teacher put in the final word that since they had no exceptional excuse, it was best they completed the assignment or fail it if they wished.

Now even her perfectly planned weekend was ruined since the assignment had to be done with that weekend. Feeling as though all her efforts to try and stay away from him had completely been wasted she decided to get the whole thing done and over with as soon as possible. Dragging herself, she headed outside to where she had agreed to meet him to discuss the assignment.

Kicking at the dirt, Pietro scowled. _That teacher should probably have his head examined! Doesn't he realize the situation he's just put me through???  _

He would have lamented further, but Rogue was already coming down the stairs and heading towards him. Taking a deep breath, he thought to himself, _Let's just get this over with._    

***

_To be continued…_

Aaargh! School is back in a few days (talk about the shortest holiday!!) so it'll probably take me some time to update  *sigh* Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter ^^ More soon…


	3. Falling

Torn Pages Part 2: Falling

Chapter 3: Falling

***

"_I'm falling,_

_Falling silently to the ground,_

_Falling,_

_Falling slowly out of time…_"

***__

"Where's Rogue?"

"She says she'll take the long way home." Kitty replied as they piled into Scott's car.

They frowned and gave her a questioning look.

"_What_?"

Kitty sighed, giving a sort of nervous laugh before she continued.

"This will seem, like, really hard to believe, but Rogue and Pietro were like, made partners for an assignment, so they're gonna have this discussion…"

Her voice trailed off as she found them staring at her with eyes and mouths wide.

"Rogue _and_ Pietro?" they echoed.

Kitty nodded and added lightly, remembering. 

"Oh, and Rogue told us not to over react over the matter. If she's late for dinner the first thing we should not do is go over to the Brotherhood and pound them."

Tugging at her bag pack, Rogue felt slightly uncomfortable as she walked side by side with Pietro, both silent since leaving the school grounds.   

Finally, Pietro, who had been strangely walking a normal pace, spoke up.

"Guess I'm stuck with you for the weekend."

Rogue stopped walking as she turned to glare at him.

"Hey, as bad as it already is, I didn't ask for any of this, remember? All I want is to get this stupid assignment done and over with so we can both go on with our own normal lives!"

Pietro shrugged, hands in pockets he nodded,

"My thoughts exactly."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Silence.

After a while, Pietro spoke up again,

"So what was the assignment again?"

Rogue sighed, eyes towards the sky.

"We're supposed to do a research on this plant and get a specimen of it." She explained, handing him a piece of paper.

Surveying the paper, Pietro rubbed his chin thoughtfully, 

"I thought this plant only grows up in high places."

"It does."

"What? That means-"

Rogue nodded.

"Yup, we're going hiking tomorrow."

"Windstorm cliff?"

Again, Rogue nodded.

Groaning, Pietro asked,

"So see you tomorrow?"

"Here at 7.30 a.m."

***

The morning was just coming out from her sleep, the cool air still lingering in the fresh dawn. Yes, everything was awake, everything and everyone else.

Rogue rolled her eyes as she slipped on her shoes with her breakfast still at hand.

"I told you that there's nothing to worry about." She said again to the frowning concerned faces that sat across the breakfast table, staring at her with arms folded.

"What if he tries to pull off something?" demanded Scott.

"Then you and everyone will come and tell him off." Rogue joked, but failed to lighten the atmosphere as Scott's expression only deepened.

Sighing and taking another bite out of her toast, she said,

"Look, it's only an assignment. What could possibly happen?"

Seeing that they weren't convinced, she reminded them,

"Hello, this is the Rogue we're talking about? If he does try something funny…"

She pulled off her glove, lifting her bare hand in the air.

"I know how to deal with it."

Giving in, Logan who had been quietly sitting beside Ororo, said in his usual gruffness,

"Alright, but be careful kid. Not about that silver-haired punk, but they don't call it Windstorm cliff 'fer nothin' "  

Rogue nodded, smiling as she waved them goodbye.

"I'll be back soon." They heard her call out, followed by cheerful laughter as she left.

***

_So he did get here on time…_

Rogue smiled slightly.

_He probably wants to get this over as much as I do…_

"Hey."

Pietro gave a nod in return to her brief greeting.

"Guess the X geeks finally decided to let you go."

Rogue rolled her eyes. Ignoring the statement asked instead,

"Did you bring the stuff we need?"

He nodded.

"The only thing we need now is a mode of transportation," he said, with a certain grin and glint in his eye.

"Wha-?" 

Before she knew what was going on, Pietro slipped his hands beneath her legs and back, lifting her up in his arms.

"What's say lightning speed express on this very early morning."

With that there were off in a mere second, leaving behind the dust of morning's wake.

***

For a moment, Rogue felt wobbly. Pietro caught her just as she was about to lose her balance.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, a look of concern passing his face.

She nodded, slightly pulling away from him. 

In truth, she still felt dazed. The feeling of excitement and thrill still rushed through her body in great flowing waves of turbulence. The feeling of how it was to pass through time as though time itself were an invisible piece of thread that you happen to fall through so smoothly that it felt as though you were the silky drops of water itself. The thumping of your heart that was enough to deafen you yet unheard, and that you were the meaning of time itself; time that had lost its meaning to you.  

The feeling was familiar to when she had absorbed his powers and witnessed it for her own. Yet somehow, it was different. Now, was different, as he had carried her along with him.

They had arrived at the foot of their destination where Rogue had insisted they hiked like everyone else, and Pietro had objected by pointing out that there was no _everyone else._

He gave a mischievous grin. "Afraid I might drop you on the way to the top?"

"No. Just that you might miss the stop sign and send us both flying off the cliff." She retorted hotly as she started walking uphill. 

 Pietro followed, adding coolly,

"Ok. But if we don't get there like in an hour or so – we're hiking _Quicksilver_ style."

_Great. So the whole avoiding plan failed, we're stuck doing this really boring assignment which involves plants and cliffs that I don't really even care about and to top it all I have to hike the _normal _way! Man, this is so not cool! Even Lance and the others had a kick out of my misery. 'Planning anything romantic for you and your new girlfriend, Petey boy?' Lance says as he and the other idiots laugh themselves silly. _

_Yeah, right. _Pietro scoffed, recalling the little scene at the Brotherhood home.

_On the other hand…_

He felt his heart skip a beat as his steely blue eyes gazed over Rogue's form as she cooled herself of the heat. Sparkling drops of water running down her skin, shimmering in the suns rays as white locks of hair hung limply against the frame of her face.     

"What?"

Rogue's sharp inquiring tone brought Pietro back to reality as he realized he had been staring longer than intended.

"I…it…nothing." He mumbled, stumbling over the right words to say.

Rogue frowned, unconvinced. 

"Well, let's get going before the sun gets hotter than this," she said, turning away from him and resuming their walk.

_Nice going, Petey…at this rate she must really think you're a first class idiot! Stay focus or you're really gonna lose it!_

Pietro scolded himself as he reluctantly followed after her.Hopefully by the time they got this over with, that suspiciously tingling in his spine would have disappeared.

_Man, I have never been this beat!_

Rogue thought, wiping a sweat off her brow, feeling as though she'd hiked this way up for years. 

They'd finally managed to make it to the top and somehow the atmosphere up here felt rather unsettling.

_Not like it hadn't before…_

Rogue noted coming up behind Pietro.

"I told you we'd have saved more time and waste less energy if we'd done it _my_ way!" he announced knowingly as he extended a hand to help her up.

Briefly staring at his offer to help, Rogue brushed his hand aside as she managed her own way up.

"I can do just fine, thank you." She muttered coolly as she took her place beside him.

Pietro gave a slight shrug as he placed both hands deep into his pockets.

Surveying their surroundings, the cliff a good few feet away from them, a magnificent breathtaking view stood miles below them. Indeed it was an overwhelming sight of Mother Nature's beauty as colors of the sky and earth mixed in such tranquility. Both stood in silence as they took in the spectacular scenery. 

Pietro gave a low whistle, "Not bad".

Rogue shook her head.

"Beautiful is more like it."

Then they turned their attention towards completing the reason they'd come here in the first place. Of course it didn't take them long to discover the plant, which grew comfortably in one of the shady spots around the cliff.

Careful not to get too close to the edge, they picked a plant and placed it safely into a container.

"Finally." Rogue muttered as she closed the lid. "Looks like the worse is over..."

"Yup…" was all Pietro said.

Feeling the wind start to pick up, Rogue started to pack her stuff.

 "Best to get going…" she muttered softly.

Funny, though she'd been waiting for this moment, she didn't seem so thrill about it now. Somehow, she felt despite his annoying behavior, she was going to miss him being around. Just then she realized she could have slapped herself sooner for even imagining of such a thing.

_What? Hello? This is _Pietro _we're talking about! The Pietro who hangs out with the same bad gang as Lance and the other goons – the same Pietro who's constantly trying to cause havoc in your life – the exact same Pietro who doesn't care a shilling about anyone else except perhaps himself!!_

Sighing, she wondered beyond wonders why it was she was even reminding herself of these things she already knew in the first place.

Now she was even more than sure that it was a good thing they'd gotten this assignment done.

_Even he must think so…_she guessed as she stole a glance at him. Pietro, who was also getting his gear together, had a serious expression about him as he thought about their completed assignment and what it meant.

_Oh come on Maximoff! This is the moment you've been waiting for – the moment you're your own man again! No more stupid assignments (if that could be helped), no more having to spend weekends hiking cliffs, no more...no more…Well, no more a whole lot of other things!_  He concluded hotly, wondering why he still felt bothered.

Suddenly a strong gust of fierce wind blew past.

"I really think it's time we were off," Rogue shuddered, feeling the temperature suddenly drop. Carefully balancing her stuff as she tried to stand, another even stronger gust of wind followed ever so sharply that it caused the container containing their day's work to slip from Rogue's hand. She let out a sharp gasp as it rolled onto the ground only edges from the steep landing of the cliff. Rushing forward, followed by the stubborn persistence of the wind, Rogue managed to get a hold on the container before it could roll any further.

"Rogue!" came Pietro's voice through the hollow calls of the wild winds, which was undeniably at this point about to turn into a raging storm.

Wild hair about her, Rogue proceeded to make her way through, storm or no storm.

That was of course before she was knocked off her feet by a furious force of fleeting air.

Past the steep landing, everything a blur, Rogue knew the worse was yet to come.

She was falling…

Falling towards the deadly edge of the cliff.

She must have screamed so deafeningly that she must not have heard her name being cried out as a pair of hands suddenly appeared and caught hers just in time before she went steer clear off the cliff – not that she wasn't exactly.

She wasn't quite out of harm's way either as Pietro tried desperately to bring her up.

What with the storm hovering above, that wasn't the only problem.

The moment his hands come into contact with her bare skin he felt that sharp pain of electricity shoot through his body, surging like wildfire – it was only a matter of time before he gave in.

_WHY? Why'd I have to take off my stupid gloves just then? Now we're both gonna die!! _Rogue grimaced as she felt that familiar and unwelcome flash of power absorb into her body.

Breathing hard, his body drenched with cold sweat, Pietro tried to concentrate, tried to get his mind to think clearly, but his energy was flowing out of him faster than anything that he was beginning to get groggy. 

"Pietro!" he heard her call out and realized his grip was slipping.

Gritting his teeth, he muttered, "Can't…let you go…"

It was now or never. Gathering whatever strength he had left, he gave a tremendous effort using his speed to haul her up – so hard that he could feel every last breath of his body whoosh out and the pain…that excruciating pain…

He was unconscious by the time he fell back to the ground with Rogue securely in his arms.

***

"Hey."

Was it he, or was the whole world echoing in strange voices? Coming into focus, he realized who it was.

"You okay?" came Rogue's voice again, her face etched with a frown of concern as she stared down into his frozen blue eyes.

Feeling his face suddenly flush and then his head dizzy again, he managed an audible mumble, "Guess so." 

Relief settled on her face and a gentle smile warmed over it. Despite his feeling drained, he couldn't help noticing how lovely she looked.

Then he realized that he had been lying on her lap and that the air had finally calmed down.

Noticing the questioningly look, Rogue told him,

"After you passed out, I dragged both of us away from that…cliff. Fortunately, that storm's moved on…"

_And that we escaped near death, _Rogue secretly added with a shudder.

"That's the last time I ever go hiking," muttered Pietro as he slowly tried to get up but found himself still weak.

"Perhaps you should rest a bit more before we go," Rogue advised, not trusting that he'd be able to make it all the way back down.

"No sweat," he joked. "All I need is an extra boost of sugar in my system and I'll be hyper…once…more…"

Rogue shook her head as his voice trailed off and his eyes drifted shut as he fell into slumber again. There he was, breathing softly and looking so innocent, you wouldn't believe he could act the way he acted when he was awake. Sighing, even she couldn't believe what had just happened back there. He could have just let her go, and yet he had hold on despite the consequences that would have been. Well, you had to give the guy a little credit, even he couldn't have been_ that _bad, could he? Funny, though she'd absorb most of his powers, it must have been the shock that caused her to take his memories in such a flash that she could hardly see any of them clearly. It was all a fuzzy picture except for little bits of it. Shuddering again, she recalled once more how her powers nearly caused them their lives. She safely had her gloves back on and for that time she vowed she wouldn't take them off again unless something really came up. 

_Guess one can't really know a person all too well…_She reflected as she gave a tender smile, gently brushing away the silver hair from his eyes.

***

"Well this was quite a weekend," said Pietro as he saw Rogue off at the institute's gates.

"Just hope we don't ever have to go through it again," said Rogue as she took a step halfway through the gates. 

"I don't know," Pietro said, pretending to be thoughtful. "It was kinda fun, don't you think?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Pietro Maximoff, if you weren't acting like such a jerk all the time, you'd make more of a good friend."

Pietro stared at her, startled.

"Um, anyway…thanks." With that she was off, heading hurriedly towards the institute.

Pietro stood there for a moment and somehow it hit him that he was feeling a bit disappointed. About what, he didn't really want to find out just yet he decided as he himself headed back to the Brotherhood house.

***

Back to school again, and when one thought that it was back to dullsville – yet another event was about to come up.

"What?!" Rogue cried as she threw her books into her locker.

Kurt and Evan laughed. Kitty scowled at them as she repeated,

"Bayville's upcoming play! And I'm in charge of it." 

***

_To be continued…_

Sorry it took me so long to update!!! But I'm afraid it'll take me another while before I can get chapter 4 up, but I'll try my best and won't leave this fic till it's finished ^^ Anyway thanks for the support and reviews! 

  __

  


	4. Auditions

**A/N: I'm back after a long hiatus – I apologize to those who've waited practically forever for the continuation of this fic (Haha, it's not easy getting back into gear, but I'll do my best!) – Also, thanks for the support & reviews *sniff* I really appreciate them! Now to explain the continuing format of the upcoming chapters; the main chapter title is: ****The Dark Knight & the Goth Princess**** – which I'll be breaking down into mini chapters for easier updates *smiley* **

**Ok, onto the first mini chapter!**

* * *

**Torn Pages 2: Falling**

**Chapter 4: The Dark Knight & the Goth Princess – Auditions**

"A part to play, a role to be

But little do we know

Of the masks we continue to wear

Even after the show has long ended…"

***

"For the last time, Kurt: No."

"Aww, but you said you were doing a whole different twist on the play." Kurt started to make puppy eyes in hopes that his normally perky friend would soften up and change her mind.

Kitty took in a deep breath, tried to look serious, but didn't quite manage as his puppy eyed-expression grew which caused her to giggle but she quickly cleared her throat when she saw a glimmer of hope lit up in his face. She sighed as she gently tried to explain again, "It's not that it's a totally bummer idea – it could work in a different play maybe, but I don't see how fuzzy blue elves would fit into **this** play – not unless you wanted to be the main attraction."

Kurt quickly wiped away the longing of the thought from his face as Kitty shot him a look. He shrugged sheepishly, finally giving in, "Can you blame me for wanting a spot in the spotlight?"

Kitty mused at this. "I wish everyone else was as enthusiastic as you."

Kurt laughed. "How did the rest of the auditions go?"

"Well…"

---

"Like, why not?"

Kitty was hounding on Pietro today because she had had a flash of insight that he would be right to play the part of the Dark Knight. Kurt and Evan had gawked at her and thought she was mad, but Kitty was bent over her gut this week - being in charge of something was really bringing out the tiger in her. Jean; naturally had responded with enthusiasm when Kitty came to her for advice on being organized about the play.

"You're asking me to play the Dark Knight - right?"

Kitty rolled her eyes, patiently having to repeat herself, "Yeah, the main male role for the play."

"The guy who has to wear a dark hood and everything..." He said it as if that was his cased-closed verdict of the whole issue.

"Geez, Pietro - that's pretty much the whole point of the Dark Knight."

"Exactly. So tell me why again, should I play a role where I have to hide this?" He made an exaggerated gesture to himself.

"Ohmigosh, seriously, you are so downright vain!" Kitty sighed, throwing her hands exasperatedly into the air as she gave up.

---

Kurt laughed, of course, who would have expected the ever-arrogant Pietro to turn down a chance at stardom. Speaking of that silver-haired punk, Kurt had noticed that he seemed to be keeping a low profile nowadays in the means that he wasn't always hanging around the hallways waiting to jump out of nowhere and bug the daylights out of his usual victims. But before he could think further among those lines, he returned his attention to Kitty who was now shuddering visibly at the recollection of Todd trying out for the Dark Knight.

"So who's the next lucky candidate?"

The big grin on her face was enough to answer his question. He chuckled, shook his head as they continued to walk to their next class, "I hope **he's** prepared."

* * *

**A/N: Yup, that's pretty short. Hehe, please bear with me throughout the next chapters. Wow, who's been re-watching the XME episodes? I am for one – I pretty much missed 2 seasons when it first aired, so I'm catching up on it again :p **

**Do send in your reviews and tell me what you think **


	5. Denial 1

**Torn Pages 2: Falling**

**Chapter 5: The Dark Knight & the Goth Princess – Denial 1**

Words are easy

Words are simple

They can lie

They can deny

What the heart really wants to say

***

"So Kitty got Lance to play the dark knight, huh?"

It was Rogue's turn to roll her eyes now as Scott grinned in expectation of the answer to that question. "Yeah, and I got suckered into playing the main female part."

Scott laughed, his smile hinting at a knowing glint that would have been reflected under those shades of his, "You're dream come true."

Rogue allowed herself to laugh at that statement, slipping a sigh as she looked up into his hidden eyes from beneath her white locks, "Is it that obvious?"

"Maybe," he smiled, trying to sound sympathetic to show her that he understood her reasons for not being able to help herself as he pointed to the familiar worn-out paperback book she held among the stack of textbooks.

Her lips parted a silent 'Oh', as she hugged the books closer to her chest, a hue of color brushing against her pale cheeks. She had been intrigued when Kitty first mentioned that the play was going to be based on the story of the Dark Knight, and almost practically fell over when Kitty offered her the part of the leading lady – which she accepted of course, but not without making sure that Kitty went all out to convince her to say yes.

"You'll do great," Scott assured, patting her shoulder as he proceeded to leave.

"Thanks," she smiled just before he went out of earshot, and continued to rearrange her things in her locker. She jumped just as she had closed her locker door shut and found Pietro leaning against the lockers as though he'd been there all awhile. His arms folded against his chest, he looked at her with what seemed to be an accusatory glare.

"Nice guy, that Summers."

Her hand still to her chest, she shook her head, ignoring his remark; "Will you stop trying to give me a heart attack?"

He shrugged, "Couldn't even if I tried."

"Well, I don't have time to put up with you today – I've got a play to rehearse."

"I know."

"So I'm gonna be going now."

"Okay."

Rogue blinked, unsure if she misheard him – was the ever-insistent, hands-down annoying, fast-talking Pietro; giving in – just like that? She frowned, "You do know that means I am leaving you now."

He rolled his eyes, "You don't need me to give you directions do you?"

"Of course not!" she snapped, but even so found herself still rooted there – as though awaiting for something.

Pietro, aware of this, couldn't help but smirk as he leaned even further back against the metallic surface. "What's wrong? Don't trust me?"

"Not when it's you."

"Not when it's not Scott Summers," the sarcasm and animosity undisguised in his tone.

"What?" That remark caught her off guard.

Ever since that day when he saved her – the day he had made her promise not to mention what had happened to the others; he assured her he wasn't going to say anything to his own teammates because really, being a hero didn't mean much to them anyway and they would probably just take the opportunity to make a bad joke out of it; and he didn't want her friends to start trying to get him on their good side either because he wasn't planning on playing by the rules anytime soon – they'd been casual about hanging around each other.

In Rogue's case – she didn't try to brush him away as adamantly as she normally would when he made himself present in her space. She did owe him after all.

Now his unusual change of mood seemed to fascinate her. Well, it wasn't a surprise that he wasn't fond of either of her teammates; still throwing in a jibe and poking fun at her friends whenever he felt like it (although nowadays it seemed more and more like he did it just to purposely provoke a reaction out of her) – but the strange manner in his tone and expression actually made her think he was…jealous.

"What?" It was Pietro who asked this time, when he noticed she was staring at him in a very strange way – like she was shocked about something and had completely lost her ability to speak.

"Oh, nothing," she murmured, pretending to be looking for something in between the pages of the book she was holding. That was a ridiculous thought – downright impossible, after all why would he possibly have reason to be feeling any form of jealousy even towards Scott. But she couldn't shake the little thrill that she felt when she thought of it like that – and that was scaring her just a bit.

"Hmm…" Pietro seemed to be puzzling over a thought and his frowned deepened as soon as something clicked in his mind. "Do you have a crush on him?"

Rogue's book dropped to the floor.

* * *

A/N:

To be continued…*sleepy* ^_~


	6. Denial 2

**Torn Pages 2: Falling**

**Chapter 6: The Dark Knight & the Goth Princess – Denial 2**

Pulse racing  
Lips trembling  
Thoughts spinning

I try to push it away  
But my conviction starts to sway,  
Even as I try

To deny, deny, deny

***

Her book dropped to the floor as she stared at him, startled once more. He was jealous! Rogue's thoughts seemed to scream in clarification as she hastily bent over to pick the fallen book – which disappeared as soon as a lightning quick form blurred past.

Pietro now stood in front of her, waving the book just out of her reach.

"So do you?"

"So what if I do?"

Where did this coolness and confidence come from? – Rogue wondered, as she watched for his reaction calmly, her arms folded in front of her as she stood upright once more.

Pietro seemed to take a moment to react. Inside, he couldn't help the sharp blow at the thought of what her words meant. But he made no show of that. Instead, he looked disinterested, playing with the pages of the book as he stated tonelessly, "So you do have a thing for him."

"Please. So would half of the girls in this school. If you took the time to notice, other than constantly paying attention to yourself – you'd realize that you're not the only sought after guy here."

He let out a snort, threw the book aside, and this time started to advance in on her as he asked sarcastically, "What is it about him, that has you so into him?"

Rogue slowly backed up as he neared steadily, till her back felt the cold surface of the lockers. Still, she held her gaze to his as she answered, "What and how I feel about him, is really none of your business, you know?"

She looked all too smug, and as he realized where she was going with this, he threw back his head in mock laughter.

"You actually think I'm jealous - of Scott Summers? Ha!"

"Then if you aren't - why are you mad?"

The indignant glare on her face seemed to be an invitation, a dare as he leaned in defiantly into her space with both hands on either side of her head - dangerously close.

"I am not mad…"

"Aren't you?"

The words seemed to come out with much difficulty as her breathing became unsteady. His gaze was becoming intense, unsettling, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to look away – and neither could he.

"No…"

It was a pull he couldn't resist and Rogue herself couldn't help but play with the spark she knew was flaring between them. She didn't want to find an explanation to justify what was taking place: all she knew was that she was enjoying this - this unexplainable attraction.

The words, how long and when or why, was of no importance right now. They seemed to have given in; weary of the constant struggle, the constant restraint they knew they always had to have.

But it was when his breath touched her skin, felt the shock of that warmth – that she became fully aware of the real danger and with her gloved hand, stiffly, held him back.

"You…we, really should be more careful," she hissed, catching her breath as she looked away.

Becoming conscious of his actions once more, Pietro felt the struggle to contain the rush of adrenaline that was surging within him. Control – the one thing he realized now seemed beyond him every time he was near her.

A fleeting moment passed, and before he could speak, her whispered words broke the sudden silence first:

"I really have to go."

Without waiting for his response, she had brushed past him, retrieved her book and walked on without so much as a glance back.

Pietro watched her till she had gone. Wordlessly, he sank back against the lockers and just stared at the empty hallway.

* * *

A/N:

Finally, our speed demon is stunned into silence (for now anyway). ^_^~ Please comment & review – need to know how I'm doing with this fic (smiley)

At the most I'm managing for a weekly update – December's just around the corner, wowee!

Till next chapter, thanks for taking the time to read!


	7. Advice

**Torn Pages 2: Falling**

**Chapter 7: The Dark Knight & the Goth Princess – Advice**

"Through the Lips,

The Heart poured

Her innermost secrets,

To her friend, the Ear

Who was always willing to hear."

***

"So, what do you think – the blue or the pink one?"

Today, Rogue was in Jean's room, helping her to choose her outfit for her date with Scott. The others had gone out, leaving the two girls an opportunity to bond.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I think the, mm…"

Jean gave a little sigh as she put down the dresses and sat down in her chair, facing Rogue who was clearly distracted.

"Alright… what's the matter?"

She watched as the younger girl looked up directly at her, a little surprised and shrugged timidly. "Nothing's the matter."

"Are you sure?"

Jean's own green ones looked into Rogue's more grayish emerald eyes. She could see the reluctance there.

"I know; I'm not really the one you would choose to talk about…certain things. But I promise you, I won't say anything unless you really want me to. I'll only hear you out."

The solemnity in her voice moved Rogue a bit.

"Well…" She hesitated, pulling at her glove while she contemplated.

She knew she could just close the whole subject, just not even open it any further – but she was torn about wanting to talk about what was eating at her right now. She had earlier considered Kitty or even Kurt – but was wary about how they would react, let alone even let her go that far. Now, here of all people was Jean. Sure, they got along better nowadays, but Rogue still wasn't sure they'd gotten to that level of sharing.

Jean smiled resignedly as she watched Rogue struggle with her inner self. "But if you really don't want to talk about it – it's fine. No pressure."

No pressure? Was she kidding? Rogue stared at her. The words were on the tip of her tongue, just about to jump out.

"I… You promise you won't say a thing – go red, oops. I mean, you'll just hear me out, right?"

Jean mimed that her lips were sealed.

"Okay… There's this…" Rogue's voice trailed off. She nervously played with her gloves again, wondering what the best; most subtle way was of putting this.

"Yes?"

Jean's gentle prompt was enough to trigger Rogue's response.

"Argh! There's this guy – and he's driving me absolutely crazy!!" She was up on her feet now, fists clenched as she stared up to the heavens.

"Oh my," Jean's hand had automatically found itself over her heart.

There was no turning back now.

"So, I mean he's not my type – I don't think he is – no, he well, he's just so annoying! We don't have anything in common, we shouldn't even be talking to each other, but, but…"

Rogue found herself even more at a loss as she ticked off the reasons she had used to reason with herself beforehand – all the things 'why not'. But, yes, there was that 'but'.

"But even if he frustrates me to no end – I can't help, somehow, have these... feelings for him."

She had wrapped her arms around herself now, standing absolutely still, her back towards Jean, her voice quieter:

"And that's the most frustrating."

"Does this guy have anything to do with the…Brotherhood?"

The question had been asked with much careful caution and composure, as Jean steadily met Rogue's gaze: a guilty gaze along with a questioning one. Jean gave her an assuring look of one who seemed to have known all along but had quietly chosen to remain ignorant.

"I kind of noticed."

"Oh, no – does that mean, the rest -?" Slight panic rose through Rogue.

"Of course not, and no, I don't need my psychic abilities to figure these things out," she added seeing the skeptical look Rogue gave.

Looking somewhat relieved, Rogue settled back down on Jean's bed. "So that's about it."

The two girls sat in silence, staring awkwardly at the floor.

"So, Pietro, huh?" Jean tried to sound perky.

Rogue tried unsuccessfully not to blush as she nodded, "Yeah…"

There was another pause, as Rogue prepared for the onslaught she knew was coming and just as Jean was about to say something, Rogue burst into rapid speech about the Windstorm Cliff incident.

It took another while for Jean to absorb it all after she got Rogue to calm down and repeat.

It was clear that Rogue wanted to clarify that Pietro deserved a chance – that however reluctant and unsure, she seemed to come to terms that she was willing to give whatever that was going on between them a chance.

Rogue bit on her lip as she searched for Jean's reaction. Jean sat very still and Rogue knew she was obviously trying to weigh the reality of what this all meant, of the consequences that could occur, that the Brotherhood was plotting something etc. etc. or even that Kitty and Lance's relationship wasn't this hard in comparison to Rogue's given one. Ultimately, it would spell disaster and that Rogue should just forget the whole thing. Yes, that would be the most reasonable thing Jean would do as the more responsible one of the team.

Finally after a moment of what felt like torture to Rogue, Jean looked up, sighed, and with a surrendering smile said, "Would you settle for a 'let's just see how things go'?"

For a second, Rogue was stunned, and seeing that Jean was completely sincere, she grinned back and nodded. She knew it took a lot of effort on Jean's part just to hold herself back from giving the expected full on lecture, which Rogue quite appreciated – simply, she really didn't want to make things anymore complicated than they were now. She had just needed someone to hear her out.

"Ok, so which is it – the blue or the pink?"

"Blue – definitely blue."

* * *

A/N:

I recall Jean having worn something blue in Evo? Can't remember now, oh well, but blue would look pretty on her, right? ^^

So this chapter is due because I wanted to post it up last Sat - I made a schedule to post it weekly. Ooh, few more chapters before the finale of this fic. I'll be busy again – not that I'm not already. I've also been on Rietro-high and so, feel free to check out my DA page: .com – thanks for reading ^_^

Next chapter: Down at the Brotherhood – Lance shakes things up a bit, with some 'news'.


	8. The Kiss Scene

**Torn Pages 2: Falling**

**Chapter 8: The Dark Knight & the Goth Princess – The Kiss Scene**

"A gesture of affection I bid thee,

Take pity on this fool,

Who's head over heels

Mad with the very emotion

He swore he'd never feel"

***

"W-hat?"

Pietro had not meant to stutter the way he did – but seeing the smirk that he so often gave Lance being served back to him was an injury to his ego. Or maybe that part wasn't as bothering as what Lance had just said.

"There's a kiss scene at the end of the play."

"Hah!" Pietro exclaimed to point out his bluff. "You'd get fried kissing her!"

Lance shrugged, "Of course, there's a veil in between for that purpose."

Then he added nonchalantly, purposely grinning, "But a kiss is still a kiss."

Pietro gritted his teeth but said nothing. He was not going to let Lance egg him on like this; not going to show how it bugged him big time – though he didn't want to think about why that was right now, especially since he was still struggling with the recent event between him and Rogue.

The very thought of Lance kissing Rogue – untouchable or not was driving him senseless; but he was not going to admit that here. He did what he usually did to show the exact opposite of what he actually felt; brushing it off like it was nothing, the best only Pietro could pull off – hey, he had tons of practice to perfect the art.

"Well I should have known. Only a lame-brain like you would risk getting his life sucked right out of him for a stupid play. I'll be sure to send flowers to your funeral, Lance."

"Whatever, Pietro. I'm sure Rogue would enjoy the scene as much as I'm going to." With that he was outside the door, leaving Pietro to fume in privacy – or somewhat privacy as Todd was there watching the whole thing.

"Does it bother you?"

"Huh?"

"That Lance gets to make out with your Rogue?"

If Pietro had Jean's psychic abilities – he'd have pummeled the toad-boy with the living room couch already. Instead he scoffed,

"For one thing – she's not my Rogue, and for another, Lance is not making out with her!"

"Well if you're not bothered – why do you sound like you are?" Fred came out of the kitchen, unceremoniously eavesdropping.

"Aargh!" Pietro gave up; leaving the both to stare at the spot he had just disappeared from.

"Was it something we said?" Fred mumbled.

"Maybe," Todd shrugged, turning his attention to Fred's dripping mayo sandwich. "Yo, you gonna finish that?"

***

**A/N:**

As of current I'm back to continuing my studies – so so sorry for the late updates. Well, a little Rolance here ( hehe, I used to like that ship)…

A shoutout to Mindy1996: thanks for the reviews & to everyone else who's reading this fic, thanks so much for the support ^_~


	9. Falling Again

**Torn Pages 2: Falling**

**Chapter 9: The Dark Knight & the Goth Princess – Falling again**

* * *

"**Just when I thought I'd finally made sense out of something,  
** '**You' happened – and I started  
**** Falling again…"**

Complicated.

That was what this was. That being exactly the reason he had up till now disliked and avoided it at all costs.

Feelings.

The more he tried to make sense of it the more senseless it became. How many times now had he tested the theory only to have it frustrate him more? This was why he wanted to stop trying already and do what he wanted to do. After all, he knew what it was he wanted right now. To heck with the consequences.

Pietro's own thoughts blocked out the voices of his fellow teammates who were busy clowning around as they walked into school that Monday morning.

"See you at lunch then," Jean said as she gave Scott a quick kiss on the cheek.

It wasn't unusual to see the two at their little lovey-dovey moments, but Rogue couldn't help but wonder for the how many times she wondered just how easy it was for others to share an intimate gesture, no matter how small. A simple kiss even…

Before she knew it, the memory of what had occurred between her and Pietro caused her to blush and turn away as Scott waved them goodbye.

Pietro stood by the lockers, watching Rogue as she made her way to class.  
He mused at the way her face lit up, her lips forming into a little smile as she acknowledged those who greeted her.

Her words from that fateful day echoed now at the back of his mind,

"_Pietro Maximoff, if you weren't acting like such a jerk all the time, you'd make more of a good friend."_

He shook his head. The truth was that he was a jerk and he wouldn't make much of a good friend. Like right now, he still couldn't let go of his ego. He didn't want to talk about what had happened, but he didn't want to just let go of her either.

He caught her startled gaze then when she realized his presence. She looked as if she were about to say something but seemed to think better of it – as if she expected him to say something first.  
But disappointment reflected in her eyes as she knew he wasn't going to do so. He just stood there, watching her as she walked into the classroom.

Yup, he was a complete and utter jerk.

Rogue drummed her fingers softly on the wooden desk as she phased out of today's lecture.  
So he was going to act like nothing happened between them – big deal, right? After all, what had she expected anyway?

She stopped drumming then.

Who was she kidding? She'd expected that they could at least talk about it. Just straighten things out. Get it out in the open. After all, it wasn't nothing – was it?  
Argh! He was driving her insane, again and again…

She took a deep breath.

Fine. If he wanted to play it that way, then so be it. She wasn't going to be the one to bring up the subject. Not when he wasn't going to be man enough to admit it.

"Hey."

Rogue automatically looked up, but quickly glanced back down as she replied,  
"Hey."

It was recess and Rogue was going through her lines for the play.

Pietro sat casually down next to her, allowing just the right amount of space between them. A moment passed as they just sat there without saying anything else.

She was staring at the words on the paper, but not really reading them. She was just concentrating on the fact that everything between them was normal. As normal as it could get in their situation anyway.

He was doing the same, watching the grass at his feet as if it were the most interesting thing to be looking at.

"So how's the play coming along?"  
He hadn't really wanted to ask, but he couldn't stand to be just sitting there in the strained silence.  
So much for not saying anything.

Rogue raised an eyebrow, but replied him anyway,

"It's going well – If you don't mind the endless retakes. Kitty, of course, wants everything to be_ perfect_."

She said it with a weary sigh but the thought of the scene between her and Lance being done over and over again just plain irritated Pietro. He tried to change the subject but Rogue was still talking.

"Are you coming to watch?"

She regretted asking the moment the words came out, but it was already too late to take back.

The question caused a surprised reaction from Pietro, who quickly replaced it with a smug smile as he pretended to think it over.  
"Why? Do you want me to come?"

A blush of embarrassment rose on her face, as she replied hotly,  
"No. I just assumed you'd be there – you know, if you had nothing else better to do…"

His shrug and laid back grin only increased the twinge of annoyance she was feeling as he replied nonchalantly,  
"Assuming I had nothing better to do, I'd consider it. Just don't get your hopes up."

"I won't."

"If you ask nicely, I'd seriously consider it."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"You want me to be there."

"I do not."

"Just admit it."

"I-"

She looked quite work up, and seemed as if she was seriously considering to take off her gloves and drain the life out of him just to shut him up – but he didn't have the chance to find out as Todd came hopping in.  
"Yo, mind if I interrupt this date?"

"Yes." Pietro seethed under his breath.

"Not at all," Rogue said, somewhat relieved as she started to gather her things and get up.

Pietro rose to his feet too, but before he could get any words out of his mouth, Rogue shoved something into his hand.

"And just to set the record straight – I'm not hoping."

She quickly went off before he could see the change in her expression as he stared at what he held in hand.

"What was all that about, yo?"

Pietro simply shrugged in reply, as he put his hands into his pockets along with what Rogue had passed to him.

Secretly, he was unable to contain the warmth that had been steadily glowing in him, that he knew he'd already long crossed the line when he started hanging out with her, that just by being around her was proof he'd lost it. That he was already falling again…

* * *

A/N: Whee. Update update! :D

Next chapter: Just a very little scenario between Todd and Kurt ~


	10. The Toad & the Blue Elf

**Torn Pages 2: Falling**

**Chapter 10: The Dark Knight & the Goth Princess – The Toad & the Blue Elf**

* * *

Green and blue make a lovely color combination – but not when that green is slimy, icky, and toad-dish…

"Well, everyone is busy doing something. So I'm kind of bored."

"So you decide to be busy by hanging out with me?"

Kurt stared in disbelief at the toad boy. It was just after his last class and Kurt had just been about to quench his thirst when Todd of all people, approached him. He had actually been waiting to go home with Scott and Jean who were still having extra classes. Evan was busy with a group project, whereas Kitty and Rogue were having their usual rehearsals for the play.

"Yeah, yo. I mean, Fred's always busy being hungry, Lance is busy with the play, and Pietro's always busy now going out of his way to bug Rogue, and - "

"Yeah, now that you mention it – what is up with that? I thought his favorite person to bug was Evan." Or me, or Scott…

"Well, he says he's taken a personal interest in doing so – annoying the heck out of her. But personally," he lowered his voice in case anyone overhead. "I think he has a crush on her."

Kurt choked on his drink. He managed to sputter out the words that didn't seem to make sense together, "Pietro? Crush? Rogue?"

Todd shrugged, distracted by a buzzing fly. "Yeah…"

"You're talking crazy. The only crush that's gonna happen is what Rogue would do to Pietro." Kurt shook his head, musing slightly at the thought.

"Well – crazier – things – have – happened." Todd said; a jump at each word as he tried to catch the fly with his mutant toad tongue.

"Yeah, like me actually having this conversation with you," Kurt sighed, and gagged as he watched Todd's successful catch. _That_ could be counted as one of the very reasons they didn't really hangout much in the first place.

But as Todd continued snacking on the poor fly, Kurt couldn't help but wonder what other going-ons he'd been missing out on…

* * *

**A/N:**

I couldn't help but add in this little scene. After all, these two had their first fight against each other when they both first appeared in the XME series. Anyway, Todd's just lonely now and Kurt's available…

Hehe ^_~ The day of the play is finally arriving…

Reviews are wonderfully appreciated ^_~

TBC.


	11. Night of Play 1

**Torn Pages 2: Falling**

**Chapter 11: The Dark Knight & the Goth Princess – Night of the Play (1)**

Hush  
The time has come  
Hush  
It has begun  
Arise the drama  
Of the day  
Witness the  
Night of the play

* * *

Kitty's voice mixed with the humming busyness backstage, but Rogue was herself occupied with peeking through the side curtains that gave her a view of the seated audience.

"He's not gonna show you know."

Rogue whirled around to see Lance who was also already dressed in his knight costume, looking over her shoulder towards the same view she had been looking at.

Adjusting the long dark-haired wig around the frame of her face, Rogue muttered,

"I have no idea who you're talking about."

"He told me has a hot date tonight."

Rogue's grip on the part of the material of her princess costume she was adjusting tightened then. But she quickly said,

"Huh, what Pietro wants to do with his night is none of my business."

"So you were looking for him."

Too late the sly grin on Lance's face made Rogue realized that she'd just been had.

"But he did say he'd drop by in case his date doesn't go well."

"I don't really care, okay?" she snapped as she turned fully away from the curtains and made her way to the backstage commotion.

Of course she didn't care; it didn't matter whether he had showed up either – in the first place, what would it prove anyway?

At least now she could pay her full attention to the play she'd set her heart on.

* * *

"It's going to be wonderful, I heard Kitty has been really working hard on this," Ororo was saying conversationally to the professor.

They were seated together with Jean and the rest, except for Logan who as usual was bent on guarding the grounds of the institute despite the high tech surveillance that was set up throughout the area. He promised to watch the recording of the play from Evan when Rogue and Kitty tried to convince him to attend.

"I believe that all involved have certainly done their best," nodded the professor, who was quite proud of his students.

* * *

"_The dark knight is evil, my sister. They say he steals away souls. Beware he steals yours!"_

_The princess shook her head at her brother's warning. Despite his good intentions, she knew where it was the real evil lurked. It was here in this very castle._

_She had heard of this dark knight – a being with the form of a man, bearing the shield of darkness and taking away the breath of others for he had none of his own. _

_But he had spared her life – till now it riddled her why he had done so._

_Only now, she wished he had, for the conspiracy of this place had cost the lives of their loved ones, and all that was left was of her and her brother. _

_Alone with this unbearable pain set in their hearts._

* * *

The lights stunned him and he froze for a moment.

"K-urt, snap out of it…" Kitty's voice soft but urgent called from the side of the stage.

"It is the cursed sun of the lights that has kept me prisoner all these years!" Kurt cried with feeling as he over came his momentary stage fright.

Kitty smacked her head at the line slip but the audience seemed to be enjoying the play too much to notice. The enthusiasm of the crowd boosted Kurt's confidence and he went on like a true stage actor.

Rogue smiled and joined in the cheer for Kurt who was thoroughly enjoying himself as he got a little spotlight of his own. It wasn't too long before her final scene came up…

* * *

There was a hushed silence in the audience as the ending scene came up.

The part where the princess was about to make her final decision.

The scene was set with the princess and the dark knight alone in the palace gardens. It was a romantic setting – with the sparkle of soft colorful lights in the dim background, as the glow alike moonlight illuminated the two characters.

_The dark knight had played a role in restoring peace once more throughout the kingdom and eventually helped her brother to regain his rightful place as ruler. Now that was over, he was leaving them. The princess had followed him to bid her own farewell, but in truth she had come to settle once and for all what it was that she was feeling for him, and that was that she had let her heart be stolen by this man whose features were forever locked away in his suit of armor._

"_Take me with you," she half-whispered through the darkness._

_The dark knight shook his head. He didn't speak much unless necessary and only uttered the simplest of words, which he did so now,_

"_You belong here."_

"_No," she shook her head. "I know now where it is I belong and it isn't here – not anymore."_

_There was hesitance in the dark knight as he struggled with the conscience he still possessed deep within himself. But upon catching the look of determination she had in her eyes, he knew that he too wanted nothing more than to have her presence at his side. _

It was then he strode determinedly towards her and it was then the kiss scene took place.

* * *

As their lips came into contact, pressed against the silk veil; Rogue felt a tingling sensation unlike any other. A part of her mind was urging her that she was past her sanity because there was just something about this kiss, something more – and it was reacting because this was Lance who was kissing her.

But, the vibe that she was getting from him was a sincere longing that seemed to draw her like a moth towards fire: the risk of being burned, bur not caring – because deep inside, she had always longed for this kind of touch. She forgot herself for a moment – succumbed to this unexplainable passionate heat.

"Lance!"

The nearly screech-like whisper of Kitty's broke the moment just as the audience erupted into a roar of applause and the curtain came abruptly down causing Rogue to break away from the kiss.

Before she knew what was happening in the middle of everything that seemed to happen at once – Lance took her hand in his and led them swiftly towards the back exit.

* * *

"Lance are you crazy!" Rogue gasped as the gush of cold night air entered her lungs.

The darkness was slowly drifting away as the clouds moved silently to give way to the moonlight's glow.

There she stood, rigid and downright confused about Lance's sudden strange behavior.

He had his back towards her, as if he was staring hard at something on the ground.

She sighed.

"Lance, if you don't stop foolin around, I sw-"

She fell silent as he turned to face her - just as the moonlight shone it's brightest upon his form.

He took of his mask.

* * *

A/N:

Has Lance lost it? Kitty's going to be so mad…

To all those who have given me support and urging to finish this fic even after I'd unintentionally but had abandoned it – sincere thanks goes out to all of you

The Grand Finale very soon to come… :)


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